Even with nine candidates vying for six council positions in the Oct. 26 Estevan civic election, no actual debates broke out last Wednesday night during the candidate forum that was staged in the Saskatchewan Energy Training Institute auditorium, in front of about 100 interested citizens.
The format for the evening did not cater to a debate format anyway, thereby allowing the contestants equal opportunity to introduce themselves, discuss local issues they wanted to address and, with a few minutes each, to respond to questions sent forward from the audience through questionnaire cards.
Following preamble information from Estevan Chamber of Commerce president Josh LeBlanc, C of C executive director Jackie Wall and moderator Jeff Richards, the co-event arranged by the C of C got underway with each candidate being given time to introduce themselves. After that was completed, each one was given an opportunity to respond to prepared questions by the chamber members and then another opportunity to respond to questions from the floor via the questionnaire cards.
Travis Frank, a newcomer to civic politics, was the first one up and he provided background information on his involvement in local committees including the United Way, Bible camps and the Saskatchewan Summer Games in Estevan.
During the questions portion of the evening, Frank spoke about the community’s involvement with an economic development officer and the need to revive a program to provide tax credits for newly arrived businesses.
When asked about his opinion on maintaining a local health-care tax levy, Frank said the needs for hospital equipment replacements and renewals “will always be there and the benefits will always come back to the citizens.”
On the topic of administration needs, Frank said he felt the right people were now in place at city hall to guide the way to further debt reduction
Kevin Smith, an incumbent, was elected in 2012. He has six years of experience on the local board of police commissioners. He said he felt a few years back, the city had become complacent but council and the new administration showed “courage to change and things started to happen, like paving projects, a new water and waste water plant, while still reducing the debt.” He said debt reduction was now at the top of his priority list since “it’s caused grief in the past with interest payments, instead of putting the tax dollars to work for the taxpayers.” He said there had been a lack of foresight in previous councils and administration to introduce gradual tax increases and now there was a team in place that understood the need to plan for both short and long terms.
He said the city missed an opportunity decades ago when it was decided not to build the Shoppers Mall in the central part of the city and he was one of the few who favoured a traffic speed bump (or hump) along Wellock Road as a means of slowing down vehicles near schools and playgrounds in that area. He also supported the renewal of the regional airport runway and housing developments with greater green spaces.
Dennis Moore, another incumbent, making a run for a third term, said newcomers were beginning to feel welcomed in the community. He noted since he was retired from an extensive business career, he had time to be a city representative at events where other councillors might not be able to attend. He said he was available to the taxpayers and “if I don’t have answers, I’ll find them and get back to you. I like to brag about Estevan being a city where, when we set our mind to it, we do it.”
Moore is in favour of retaining the health-care levy since it has already served a good purpose in physician recruitment and future funds can be directed to hospital and nursing home needs where everyone benefits. He was not in favour of Wellock Road speed bumps, saying there were other ways to get traffic to slow down in the sensitive areas.
Moore was also adamant in his opinion regarding the removal of former city manager Jim Puffalt, saying “we never got true numbers, there was always a reason. I’m not an accountant but as a councillor I expect to get true numbers, not covered numbers.”
Lyle Yanish, a newcomer to civic politics, has also served on the police commission, as well as being a church and community volunteer. He said he saw some welcomed stability come to the council business front in recent years with spending being done responsibly. Continued investment in infrastructure was a good thing to pursue, he said.
He also favoured the hiring of an economic development officer, to not only pursue new businesses and opportunities but, also aid in the procurement of grants and tax relief from senior governments that other staffers may not be able to do.
When it came to the health-care levy, Yanish said he felt it should be up to the citizens to decide whether it should be kept or to set a new goal.
Yanish also said he did not favour the idea of speed bumps on Wellock.
He said he is working on his personal skill-set insofar as he is learning to listen more and grasp what the community wanted.
Greg Hoffort, an incumbent; seeking a second term, said when he first entered council four years ago, there was a big need for infrastructure investment and much had been done in the interim with water and sewer line replacements and renewal water treatment plant as well as roads and parks. “There was a financial mess and now there is a solid financial plan in place with solid people.” He said regarding debt reduction, the city could look at working toward larger items, like the international trade corridor, and needs to become a receptive city for future development while being totally accountable.
Hoffort went on to note Estevan had done well on the communication file with the local rural municipalities and brought a CT scanner into Estevan thanks to these governments working together.
On the topic of the speed bump, Hoffort said he would fall in the line of approving them since it came as a recommendation from the Estevan Police Board.
On debt reduction, he said he felt no long-term plan had been developed in the past and it didn’t take long for expenses to far surpass the revenue pace, to the tune of about $5 million per year. But for the past four years, council had worked hard to reverse that trend and was now succeeding in that goal.
“After years of damage control, we are now turning negative into positive. It’s your city and we work for you.”
Shelly Veroba, another newcomer to civic politics, outlined her role as manager of Creighton Lodge and before that, an employee of the local health region with a volunteering background in hockey and football programs as well as the Sask. Summer Games.
She said she felt her communication skills were good and she was a good listener and would always be willing to discuss local issues and offer feedback.
She also said the city could actively promote even more things like tournaments, conventions, seminars and tours to attract visitors. “We have the facilities to support them.” She said she favoured the current debt-reduction plan posted by the city.
Veroba also views the health-care levy as a benefit for the entire community. She said she found the people she talked with, split on their opinions regarding the speed bump proposal for Wellock Road. She feared that if they were built, drivers would start to find detours around them, placing other neighbourhoods in jeopardy. In her closing comments, Veroba urged all residents, including younger citizens, to get out and vote.
Trevor Knibbs, a two-year incumbent, said he felt he had the skill set to bring to the council table and would be able to address local problems and find solutions and “continue our growth with a new budget.” He added the “drive for debt reduction has caused grief because we want your tax dollars working for you, not going to interest payments.”
Knibbs is also in favour of retaining the health-care levy and was opposed to the speed bumps, saying there were better methods to use, such as stop signs and motorist education. He noted he had been on council for a little over two years and was “anxious to keep at it.” He also noted the city needed to continue campaigns and projects to attract people to Estevan, “to bring in people who will want to stay.”
Cameron Robock, is not a newcomer to councillor campaigns, but has not tasted success to date. He said his ties to Estevan were strong and he marvelled at how Estevan came together as a community for such things as this summer’s flood recovery and then the Summer Games.
Robock also lamented the level of debt in the city and would rather see the money paid in interest, go to projects for the city and he preferred more options for awarding city contracts.
“Spending was out of order and erratic and I wondered why council was not aware of what was happening?”
He, too, endorsed the retention of the health-care levy, saying it could be used to attract a service such as a full-time emergency room physician.
Robock said he felt a speed bump on Wellock would be punitive, especially for trucks and larger vehicles. He said signs and enforcement of a lower speed limit should serve the purpose.
Brian Johnson, a veteran incumbent councillor, is seeking a return to the table. He said he saw council functioning as a team, not separate entities, and he wished to continue a focus on infrastructure and debt reduction. He added that council could do more in lobbying senior governments for grants for major projects and noted how communications with larger agencies had brought such things as the Boundary Dam Unit 3 carbon capture plant and the new building they were using that night, the SETI and Southeast College campus facility, as examples.
“We need infrastructure to make this city a welcome place. We need our city to be clean and safe and we’re getting there.”
Johnson said debt repayment was high on his priority list while paying attention to how the city looked and felt for locals as well as visitors. “We can keep on this path. We are watching the debt load and reducing it.”
When it came to the health-care levy, Johnson said it was needed to get doctors in the community, and it worked, and now there were more tools needed, including a need to elevate the local hospital to a regional hospital status. He also felt no need for Wellock speed bumps, saying vehicles such as the SMILE van, who use the road frequently, would be adding discomfort to the rides they provide for seniors and disabled users of the service. He said the need was for enforcement of existing speed limits
Johnson said rapid growth spurred on a lot of the debt load in years past with the need for the new water reservoirs and treatment facilities, road building and street repairs, water mains and new subdivision developments … some of them delayed. That caused even more money to be spent than what was originally estimated.
He said there was a need to pick up knowledge from other councils and committees, which could save Estevan time and money, and there was a need to focus on the growth of the arts and cultural community.
“Estevan is at the crossroads in terms of needs, with a new nursing home needed, some repairs and extension to King Street and increasing positive relations with the RMs,” he said.
With Johnson’s wrap-up comments, the time allocated for comments and answers from all council candidates concluded after about two hours of discussion.
